Wednesday, February 04, 2009

So the Unions (who in theory cannot wildcat strike- must have motions, votes etc.,) have negotiated a deal (using the Gubment AKA ACAS) with Total. (BBC Online Striking workers stand firm on British jobs Ho. Ho. Ho.) Total succcess or Total failure ?So approx 100 beefy middle aged Lincolnshire / Yorkshire men ( and maybe the odd female pipefitter in this age of sexual equality) can be used to biff the Italian, Spanish, Poles, Portuguese etc., into line if they start demanding too high wages, better accomodation , food, working conditions, protective cothing etc.,

Total is, according to their website - a French based multinational energy company with 96,400 employees and operations in more than 130 countries. Total with its Subsidiaries and affiliates, is the fourth largest publicly-traded (Paris and new York) integrated international oil and gas company in the world. (French regulation information here) .

The principal owners of power generation in the UK are German - Eon, RWE (Powergen) and the French State owned Electricite de France (EDF) who now own all (fast declining) UK based nuclear power generation - which may at some future date be replaced by French (Ariva) designed / manufactured reactors.

70% and rising of coal used for power generation is imported as is 50% of gas in the winter - indigenous supplies are declining at 8 to 9% per annum.

All LNG gas supplies / transport / storage and import plant and dockside storage is owened and controlled by foreign companies and National Government investments authorities.

Backers , firstly Aberdeen based Murray Johnstone, then Barclays Capital, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley have helped provide the funds for him build his global vision - despite , and even helped by the credit crunch, isolated from the principal global bankers (Net debt at the end of 2008 was only €7.5 billion. ) they will operate where and how they want - increasingly in Asia.